DETROIT – A jury on Thursday found a Detroit man guilty of killing his teenage cousin Zion Foster, who he admitted to throwing in the dumpster in 2022.
After deliberating for less than an hour on Thursday, May 16, a jury found Jaylin Brazier guilty of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Zion Foster, his 17-year-old cousin. Foster went missing from her Eastpointe home in January 2022. Brazier admitted that the two were together during her last moments at his Detroit home, and that he put her body in a dumpster after she died.
He is expected to be sentenced June 3.
Brazier’s trial began Tuesday, May 7. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office introduced dozens of witnesses, hoping to prove that Brazier was responsible for Foster’s death, and not just her disappearance. The defense didn’t call any witnesses to the stand, but argued that there was no evidence that Brazier was directly responsible for Foster’s death.
Brazier told police that Foster’s breathing became shallow after they smoked marijuana, and that she unexpectedly died. He also confessed to panicking and driving Foster to a dumpster in Highland Park, where he left her body.
Foster’s family reported her missing on Jan. 10, 2022. She was last seen on Jan. 4, 2022, when she was picked up from her Eastpointe home by Brazier.
Police eventually connected Foster’s cellphone with Brazier amid their investigation, leading them to Brazier.
Brazier’s first charges in this case
Within three weeks of Foster’s disappearance, police had arrested Brazier and charged him with lying to police.
Brazier initially told police that hadn’t seen his missing cousin at all, allowing authorities and family members to search for Foster for weeks. Foster’s mother said Brazier even helped search for Foster at that time.
Brazier later told police that he was smoking marijuana with Foster when she suddenly stopped breathing and died. He then admitted that he panicked and threw Foster’s body in a dumpster, but insisted that he wasn’t responsible for her death.
Prosecutors questioned in March 2022 whether Foster was really dead when allegedly thrown into the dumpster. Authorities searched for Foster’s body in a Lenox Township landfill for weeks in 2022, but were unsuccessful and called off the search in October of that year.
---> Court paints picture of how Eastpointe teen Zion Foster disappeared, where her body could be
Brazier was charged with lying to authorities during their investigation. He accepted a plea deal and was sentenced in 2022 with 23 months to 4 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2023 after serving 10 months.
Brazier later charged with murder
Despite Foster’s body never being found, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Brazier in June 2023 in connection with Foster’s death. Prosecutor Kym Worthy maintained that there was enough evidence to bring the case against Brazier, despite not having Foster’s body.
After hearing significant evidence at Brazier’s preliminary hearing in August 2023, a judge ordered Brazier to stand trial on his latest charges.
A jury was selected on Monday, May 6, 2024. Brazier’s trial began the following Tuesday.
Brazier’s attorney Brian Brown insists his client is innocent.
Brazier has already admitted to police that he didn’t think to call 911 when he noticed something was wrong with his cousin the night they were smoking marijuana together. He told police that he was scared and panicked, and not in the right state of mind because of the marijuana, and that he drove her body to a dumpster in Highland Park.
“I don’t know exactly how she passed or what caused her to pass,” Brazier previously said. “I just know one minute, she was cool, she was fine. She laid back for a minute, and next thing I know, she’s just -- she was dead. I don’t know what caused it. I did not cause it, or anything like that. I reacted stupidly off of fear and panic like I’ve never felt before in my life.”
When ordering Brazier to stand trial, Judge Kenneth King in the 36th District Court called Brazier a “sick person,” and asked why the man didn’t call for help for someone he was supposed to love.
A significant amount of evidence was expected to be revealed at Brazier’s trial. Click here to see witness testimony from Brazier’s preliminary hearing last fall.